Testing

Kia's redesigned Soul and Fiat's all-new 500L are the latest models in the quirky "toaster" class of sub-compact cars. Picture a square box riding on a car platform. The general idea is combine the comfort and efficiency of a small car with the functionality of a sport utility vehicle or crossover. And style? Let's just say the valet will be parking these behind the restaurant. Next to his car. The success of these vehicles has been mixed. Honda's Element and the Scion xB, made by Toyota, were the founding members back in 2003.

Zions Bancorp, which failed a Federal Reserve test simulating a severe recession, says it has shed some high-risk holdings and will submit a beefed-up capital plan for approval. Zions said the Fed determined that its holdings of loans and securities were riskier than it had calculated, that losses on commercial mortgages would be problematic, and that its revenue would fall sharply under economic stress. "The resubmission will contain additional actions that will further reduce risk and/or increase its common equity capital sufficient to cause Zions' capital ratios to meet or exceed the minimum capital ratios," Zions said in a statement late Thursday.

The past year has been rough for Jamaican track and field, which came under heavy scrutiny after a string of high-profile athletes failed drug tests around the time of the 2013 national championships. On Wednesday, the Jamaicans got some good news. The World Anti-Doping Agency announced that the island nation had corrected a number of significant flaws in its drug control program. "They've done exactly what we've asked them to do to put their program into place," David Howman, WADA's director general, told the Associated Press.

TEMPE, Ariz. -- It had been a calf injury that delayed Josh Hamilton's Cactus League debut until Monday. He singled for his first hit, then took off for second base. For the Angels, that was as good a sign as any. The swing might not be there yet, but the legs are back. "It felt good," Hamilton said. "I did all the things you're supposed to be able to do on the field. " On Monday he did, since the Angels limited him to designated hitter in a game against the San Francisco Giants.

SACRAMENTO - An attempt by California lawmakers to curb anonymous political donations, sometimes hidden behind secretive out-of-state groups, will test Democrats' ability to have their way without a supermajority. Dark money, as such contributions are known, roiled California's 2012 election when a web of organizations tied to conservative billionaires Charles and David Koch poured $15 million into the state to fight Gov. Jerry Brown's tax hike and support an ultimately unsuccessful move to curtail unions' political power.

A California appeals court has sided with landowners fighting the state over test drilling for a proposed water tunnel system in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. In a 2-1 decision, an appeals panel ruled Thursday that the state needed to go through the eminent domain process to gain access to private property on which it wanted to take soil samples and conduct environmental surveys. The testing is necessary for the design and construction of two 30-mile tunnels that the state proposes to build as part of a delta replumbing project.

New research has found that a protein indicating the breakdown of white matter in the brain can be detected following a hard blow to the head, raising hopes that a blood test could soon detect a concussion, predict how long symptoms will linger, and guide decisions about an athlete's return to play. In their bid to find a blood "biomarker" for concussion, researchers went to a sport with plenty of blood and plenty of concussions: hockey. For the first half of the 2012-13 hockey season, they gathered blood samples and tracked blows to the head among the 288 professional hockey players of the Swedish Hockey League.

Dion Bailey has gone through physical and psychological testing for the NFL draft. But the former USC safety said his pro opportunity in May should come down to the tale of the tape. His game tape. “A lot of people get all hyped about the testing and things like that,” Bailey said Tuesday after USC's pro day workout on campus. “We play football. Just let my tape speak for me.” Bailey started for two seasons at linebacker and one at safety before declaring for the draft with a season of eligibility remaining.

GOLDEN, Colo. - The instructions seemed simple enough: nine steps forward, heel to toe, a quick turnaround, then nine steps back. But for the guy swaying a bit as he walked, his face slack, his eyes half closed, it was all too much. He made the nine steps forward and stopped, forgetting what came next. "Wait. What?" Colorado State Trooper Jason Morales dutifully marked it down in his report, just as he had a few minutes earlier when the suspect closed his eyes and tilted his head back to guess the passage of 30 seconds.

The Fresno Bee is testing a small drone aircraft that could possibly be used for news reporting purposes, the Business Journal reported this week. “This is a new thing and it's way down the pike,” Tom Cullinan, president and publisher of the Fresno Bee, told the Business Journal. “We saw it demonstrated and the cost is reasonable.” The quadcopter would possibly be used for aerial photography of accidents, fires, farmland and waterways, the Journal reported. Cullinan said the remote-controlled drone would also come in handy in situations where reporters are unable to get to a news scene.